For the last nine months I have been working on a card game, Audatia, which is intended primarily as a training tool for students of Fiore's Art of Arms, and secondly as a way to spread knowledge of the Art more widely by making a fun and accessible game that anyone can enjoy. By playing it, you accidentally pick up the basic tenets of the system, including the Italian terminology.

This has forced me to think about the system in an entirely new way, and to think about how it can be presented to people who have never even thought of holding a real sword. It has been a steep learning curve for me, and it would have been impossible without my business partner in this venture, Rami Laaksonen, and the superb efforts and skills of the game designer, Samuli Raninen, and the graphic artist Jussi Alarauhio.

We will be presenting the game in public for the first time this weekend, at Ropecon (please note, that stands for Ro(oli) Pe(lit) ie roleplay, Co(nvention). Not Rope-con, for aficionados of hemp, cord and string. If you are coming to the Con, please stop by and have a go at the game: we will be at the official playtesting area, Käpyaula, there from 4-6pm on Friday and Saturday and 12-2pm on Sunday. My annual presentation, Realities of Steel, will be on Saturday from 12-2pm, and I will spend much of the time describing the process of developing a game from a swordsmanship system. I will also hold a swordsmanship demonstration on Sunday from 11-12, where we will not only demonstrate the Art, but also allow members of the audience to experience for themselves the difference between blunt and sharp swords.

I hope to see you there! If you catch me between demos, feel free to ask for a go of the card game. The more people who play it, the more feedback we get, the better the game will become.

We will be launching an Indiegogo campaign tomorrow to raise the 23,000 euros we need to finish the game. I'll post again here the moment it is live.